Sierra Nevada's Snowpack- Lowest in 500 Years

Last updated 9/14/2015 at 10:51am

On April 1, Governor Brown ordered historic water restrictions while speaking from a dry Sierra Nevada meadow that normally has over five feet of snow at that time of year. The melting snow of Sierra Nevada usually replenishes about a third of the water in California’s reservoirs. The scientific journal, Nature Climate Change, recently published studies using the records of tree rings indicating that the Sierra Nevada snowpack is lower than it’s been in 500 years. Forecasters predict a powerful El Nino will bring more precipitation than usual this fall and winter but that still may fail to contribute to a substantial snowpack because of warmer than usual temperatures.